Reflections upon cold calling in B2B and B2C fields. Suggestions for successful cold calls including a checklist for review and analysis of cold call campaigns. "Asking instead of saying" is the modern slogan of successful cold calling. More...

E-mailing is still the norm in business communication. However, too few companies verify intensively the success of this means of communication. Current figures, how e-mails are perceived by customers and providers in general and which present trends this means of communication has in store, especially in marketing. More...

At times like these, there are leaders and companies who choose to cut back. Often, the first thing to be scrutinized and cut is the advertising budget. What could be the impact of that decision? Right now, your clients are also trying to balance their changed lives with new financial realities. In a time of upheaval, people like a little assurance of stability. More...

Reflections upon cold calling in B2B and B2C fields. Suggestions for successful cold calls including a checklist for review and analysis of cold call campaigns. "Asking instead of saying" is the modern slogan of successful cold calling. More...

E-mailing is still the norm in business communication. However, too few companies verify intensively the success of this means of communication. Current figures, how e-mails are perceived by customers and providers in general and which present trends this means of communication has in store, especially in marketing. More...

Successful email marketing costs lots of experience. Carry out different campaigns multiple times. First try out different subject lines for the best opening rate. Then different content for a better click rate. No campaign should fall below the minimum quantity of 25,000, as otherwise the results are statistically irrelevant. More...

If you send e-mails or a newsletter to your own clients, then that"s usually OK. Basics Newsletter Marketing It becomes problematic when you send e-mails to unknown recipients. Because in most European countries you are only allowed to send advertising e-mails with opt-in. Opt-in means that the recipient expressly agrees to receive advertising e-mails. A newsletter is a sort of subscription. More...

If you send e-mails or a newsletter to your own clients, then that´s usually OK. Basics Newsletter Marketing It becomes problematic when you send e-mails to unknown recipients. Because in most European countries you are only allowed to send advertising e-mails with opt-in. Opt-in means that the recipient expressly agrees to receive advertising e-mails. A newsletter is a sort of subscription. More...

The reason so many people say ‘I didn’t receive it’ when following up on an e-blast is because they didn’t register as having received your mail. And often the reason they didn’t register is because the content wasn’t relevant to them. Make sure you get your message right for your audience. It’s all very well thinking you don’t have the time to write several emails, but statistics prove that it’s worth the effort. More...

This may sound as though I’m stating the blindingly obvious, but make sure your list is as clean as possible before sending your email out. Whilst you may not be able to verify every single person still exists, you can at least check the formatting is correct and all opt outs have been removed. This particularly applies to corporate environments when doing an e-blast to many people in the same organisation. More...

For many organisations today direct mail (DM) has been replaced with e-direct mail (eDM). And the major driver for this change? Cost. It’s far cheaper to write something on screen and whizz it out to thousands of recipients at the touch of a button than to print letters and brochures, buy and stuff envelopes and pay for postage. However, does this mean that everyone should ditch the traditional approach and go for online communications? Well, it is certainly more cost effective, but there are other questions to consider and the main one is – ‘will my mail get through?’ More...

As part of a comprehensive marketing campaign, the e-newsletter is a great way to draw attention to your website and product at a relatively low cost. With both short term tactics (like a coupon or discount code), and long term strategies (like reprint permission with proper attribution), the e-newsletter does what an effective marketing tool should do: it builds trust with customers and it offers them immediate gratification should they decide to shop at your site. More...

It can be a daunting task writing direct mail – especially if you aren’t a ‘natural’ copywriter. How do you get started, what should you include, how long should it be and how do you grab someone’s attention? In this article some of the dos and don’ts of DM are discussed, together with some hints and suggestions to create DM pieces that get results. More...

Always, always include a call to action telling people what to do or expect. Make it specific, eg. call us now on this number, download this document (via hyperlink), I will call you on this day, etc. Make it as easy as possible for someone to get in touch with you. More...

Reaching 000’s of potential new clients can be cost-effective [Local Customers] and simple. Why not try door dropping a leaflet into mailboxes/letterboxes to get your message directly to the house or business owner. Say you have a restaurant, mobile car valeting or ironing service and you have a great offer to entice people with – simply design a communication, print it up and get it delivered. More...

You are sitting alone at a café, enjoying a fine coffee and taking time to linger over a newspaper. Suddenly a hand grips the paper and tears it off of your table. You didn’t invite this person to your table, but you see they have made themselves at home. Then, they start talking and they keep talking. You find yourself assaulted by the life story of a stranger >> More...

Other things to consider are whether you want to include a freepost or reply paid envelope in your mailing if someone has to post something back. Removing the need for a stamp usually increases response rates as it’s one less thing the recipient has to think about. More...

Direct marketing is a practice that’s been used by marketeers for years to gain direct access to the end consumer. Several tactics come under the banner of direct marketing including: Direct mail, e-direct mail, Broadcast faxing, Telemarketing, SMS messaging, Door-to-door document distribution or canvassing, Social and professional web networking, Direct response television. More...

Make sure your response mechanism is appropriate – ie. it’s not the best idea to send a letter to a list of senior citizens asking them to go to a website, download a demo that will email them a 20% of discount voucher to be redeemed in an online computer games shop! Some of the best response mechanisms for corporate mailings include market research information, survey results or relevant reports on industry or technological developments. More...

Direct Mail Cuts Through Direct Mail
It is estimated that the average person is exposed to 200 to 3,000 or more advertising messages per day. It’s easy to understand how that is possible.
Think back to how your day started this morning. More...

Telephone marketing is a flexible marketing tool that interacts directly with those who may be interested in your product or service. No other marketing technique can match telephone marketing for simplicity, directness, and grass roots sales. More...

Your best chance of succeeding with a telephone marketing campaign comes with being honest, hiring or training professional callers who know how to handle any situation that might arise over the course of the call, and taking good care of the customers who purchase your product or service More...

Conducting effective telephone marketing requires professionalism, preparedness, and commitment to doing the work necessary to maximize your chances of success. If any of these aren’t present, your chances of success are much lower, and you may be better off concentrating your efforts elsewhere More...

Sometime telephone marketers make common mistakes like not introducing themselves to the person they’re calling. People want at least a name they can associate with the call. Another mistake is a telemarketer pretending to be someone they are not. More...

Every year…certain subjects end up on the desks of editorial departments and journalists. Fortunately, new content does not need to be permanently created for online-segments! The search engines find the “classics” concerning a subject. The article introduces you to what you must pay attention to when creating thematic evergreens and how classic-articles are created. More...

Go through all your material and make sure you wrote simply and easily so everyone could understand. Think of a 14 yr old child. If he could easily understand what you wrote, you did great. If he couldn’t, re-do it. Clever people do not use “clever” words. Simple words are understood both by clever people and by not-that-clever people. And you don’t want to miss your buyers, do you? More...

If you think of websites like Facebook as something for teenagers and college students, it may be time to take another look. Businesses all over the globe are using Facebook to promote their products and services. Facebook is what is known as a social networking site. You can use it to communicate with people from everywhere. Another very popular social networking site is Twitter. More...